State Park and National Park Resources

Solicitation for proposals for a Concession Contract to provide lodging, retail, food beverage, campground, marina, transportation and other services within Yellowstone National Park.

The National Park Service (NPS) will issue a Prospectus soliciting proposals for a Concession Contract to provide lodging, retail, food beverage, campground, marina, transportation and other services within Yellowstone National Park.

All offers must be received by the NPS at the address listed on the inside front cover of the prospectus no later than 4:00 p.m. (MT) on October 15, 2012, in order to be evaluated and considered for an award of a concession contract. The prospectus describes the business opportunity and includes the terms and conditions under which the NPS will award the concession contract. Please send proposals to:

Chief of Concessions
Intermountain Region
National Park Service
12795 West Alameda Parkway
Lakewood, Colorado 80228

Hard copies will be available upon request for a printing cost recovery charge. The fee is $35.00 per copy to be delivered via Federal Express or $30.00 per copy if picked up in person. Persons interested in obtaining a Prospectus should mail, or bring in person, a check or money order (NO CASH SALES) made payable to the NPS. You must include a business address (no post office box) and telephone number to receive a Federal Express package. For personal pick up, contact Jennifer Bonnett, Chief of Concessions, Intermountain Region, NPS, 12795 West Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado 80228 or at telephone number (303) 969-2661, during business hours of 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you choose to retrieve a copy of the Prospectus from the website, please advise Jennifer Bonnett, Chief of Concessions, at (303) 969-2661 with your contact information in order to receive future responses to questions or modifications to the Prospectus. Those requesting hard copy or who have been who have been placed on the mailing list will be provided with any additional information specific to the Prospectus in writing.

A three-day site visit is scheduled for June 5-7, 2012 to allow interested parties an opportunity to see the facilities. The visit begins June 5 at 8:00 a.m. in the Mammoth Hotel Map Room and ends June 7 at 5:00 p.m. at the transportation complex in Gardiner, near the North Entrance of the Park. If you plan to attend, please contact Becky Wyman, Yellowstone National Park Concessions Assistant, at (307) 344-2271 with the name of your company and the number of people attending in your group. Please contact Ms. Wyman no later than May 30 at 5:00 p.m. Site visit participants are responsible for their lodging, meals, incidentals, and transportation in the park. Room and dinner reservations are available in the Lake area for the night of June 5 and the Old Faithful area for the night of June 6 by contacting Lisa Dean with Xanterra Parks Resorts at (307) 344-5208. A limited number of rooms are available. Please contact Ms. Dean no later than May 30 at 5:00 p.m.

Article source: http://concessions.nps.gov/yell077-13.htm

Lake Shasta Caverns, Ice Mountain Added to List of Natural Wonders

WASHINGTON – As part of the 50th anniversary of the National Natural Landmarks Program this month, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has designated Lake Shasta Caverns, a pristine cave in northern California, and Ice Mountain, an unusual geological phenomenon called glacière talus in West Virginia, as national natural landmarks.

“With the addition of these two outstanding sites, we now have 593 national natural landmarks, representing the extraordinary geological and ecological diversity of our nation,” Salazar said. “These designations provide a means to work in voluntary partnership with public and private landowners to research, monitor and preserve our natural treasures for generations to come.”

Lake Shasta Caverns, a privately-owned solution cave located in Lakehead, CA, contains an especially diverse assemblage of calcite cave formations ranging from millimeters to tens of meters. The formations include all the common and many of the more scarce types of cave formations found in solution caves worldwide. The site is open to the public for educational tours.

Ice Mountain in the central Appalachians of eastern West Virginia gets its name from the refrigeration effect that takes place inside its talus — a sloping mass of boulders at the foot of a mountain. In cooler months, dense, cold air sinks deep into the talus, and ice masses form. As the weather warms, the cooler air flows out of vents among the rocks at the bottom of the slope. As a result, the site supports many species normally found in much colder regions.

The mountain also features an outstanding example of Devonian Oriskany sandstone cliffs that enhance the scenic beauty of the area. The site is owned by The Nature Conservancy and provides guided hiking opportunities for the public.

National Natural Landmarks are selected for their outstanding condition, illustrative value, rarity, diversity, and value to science and education. Each site is identified and evaluated through a rigorous process – including a scientific evaluation and public comment period – to formally acknowledge its outstanding biological or geological features.

“This program not only encourages preservation of our nation’s natural heritage, it works to expand our scientific understanding of these unique places,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Some of the landmarks are the best remaining examples of a type of feature in our nation –sometimes in the world – and we should continue to recognize and support conservation of these important natural features.” Former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall – who left a great legacy as a guardian of America’s natural landscapes – established the National Natural Landmarks Program in 1962.

The National Natural Landmarks Program http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/ is administered by the National Park Service. It is the only natural areas program of national scope to encourage the preservation of the best remaining examples of the nation’s biological and geological features in both public and private ownership. The federal designation imposes no new land use restrictions that were not in effect prior to designation.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Article source: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1336

WASHINGTON – National parks from California to New Mexico will offer some of the best eclipse-viewing opportunities on May 20 when the first solar eclipse viewable in the U.S. in the last 18 years darkens the sky before sunset.

“This will be spectacular,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “There are 33 national parks positioned for a great view of the eclipse and six parks – Redwoods National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park, both in California; Zion National Park in Utah, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona and Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Petroglyph National Monument, both in New Mexico – are at the center of the eclipse path

In addition to eclipse viewing, national park rangers and astronomers from the National Park Service, local astronomy clubs and NASA will converge on several national parks with programs and hands-on eclipse activities for park visitors.

Astronomers like Dr. Tyler Nordgren, who is also a National Park Service volunteer, call this eclipse “annular.” At its peak, the eclipse will resemble a bulls-eye, with a thin ring of the sun visible around the Moon. The Moon would need to be closer to Earth for a total eclipse, which blocks out the sun completely and casts a large shadow upon Earth.

Because the Sun won’t be completely blocked, it is essential for viewers to use special solar glasses or other protection to view this event.

Weather permitting of course, visitors at the 33 national parks along the eclipse path will get the full effect: the disc of the moon within the disc of the Sun.

Another 125 national parks, most of them west of the Mississippi River and including national parks in Alaska, will offer a partial eclipse view. “Think of Pac Man taking a bite out of the sun,” Jarvis said describing the partial eclipse. “That ‘bite’ will take out 55 to 80 percent of the disc of the sun depending on where you are and that’s still a very special experience.”

Nordgren said, “Even though we won’t have a total eclipse, the moon will be in position to block out 96 percent of the sun’s light at the eclipse maximum, leaving what we call a ‘ring of fire’ around the disc of the moon.”

Chad Moore leads the National Park Service astronomy corps. “Whether during the day or night, national parks are great places to enjoy the motions of the cosmos and take in the latest sky show. Our rangers encourage visitors to spend time beneath the sky and ponder those really big questions about the universe and our place therein.”

Please visit www.nature.nps.gov/features/eclipse for the latest eclipse information that includes safety tips, maps of the eclipse path and national parks, a complete list of national parks where the eclipse will be visible as well as the national parks that will feature public programs about the eclipse.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Article source: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1328

DINOSAUR, Colo. – Jurassic-era bones and billion-year-old rock may set the scene for this week’s National Park Getaway, but ancient history is only part of the picture.

Originally established to protect the world’s largest Jurassic period dinosaur quarry, Dinosaur National Monument, on the northern portion of the Utah-Colorado border, now encompasses more than 200,000 acres of scenic river canyons, mountains, basins and archeological sites.

Dinosaurs, and their fossilized remains, are unarguably a central attraction at Dinosaur National Monument. You’ll also find stories of early explorers, intriguing petroglyphs and the natural processes that shaped the land.

When you visit the monument, be prepared to find spectacular scenery and unbounded adventure possibilities. Start your visit by reading this week’s National Park Getaway article at www.nps.gov/getaways.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Article source: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1329

Solicitation of a Prospectus for Camping, Food and Beverage, and Retail Services at Otter Creek within the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The National Park Service (NPS) will issue a prospectus for solicitation of offers for a 10 year concession contract to provide camping, food and beverage, and retail services at Otter Creek within the Blue Ridge Parkway.

All offers must be received by the NPS at the address listed on the inside front cover of the prospectus no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 24, 2012, in order to be evaluated and considered for an award of a concession contract. The prospectus describes the business opportunity and includes the terms and conditions under which the NPS will award the concession contract. Please send proposals to:

National Park Service
Southeast Region
NPS, AFC, 1924 Building
100 Alabama Street, S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30303

To request a copy of the prospectus to be delivered via Federal Express, send a check for $50.00 payable to the National Park Service to Mark Morgan at the address listed above. Please include a physical address (no post office box) and telephone number. You may also pick up a printed copy at the Superintendent’s Office at Park Headquarters for $45.00 (checks only).

If you are planning to submit a proposal and have obtained your prospectus from the website, we recommend that you advise Mark Morgan, Concessions Management Specialist, Southeast Region, NPS, AFC, 1924 Building, 100 Alabama Street, S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303 at (404) 507-5638 or e-mail Mark Morgan of your interest so your contact information can be placed on a mailing list to receive future responses to questions or amendments to the prospectus. Those receiving a hard copy or who are on the mailing list will be provided with any additional information specific to the prospectus in writing. Questions in response to this prospectus are due in writing by Friday, June 29, 2012, to the address listed on the inside front cover of the prospectus or by email Mark Morgan. No telephone requests for the prospectus will be honored.

Article source: http://concessions.nps.gov/blri012-13.htm

WASHINGTON – In recognition of the contributions to our nation’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, the National Park Service celebrates May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

“The resources of the National Park Service provide a wealth of opportunity to explore the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the American story,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Scores of national parks and properties highlight the bitter hardships and proud accomplishments of the Asian and Pacific experience in America.”

From the early 1800s to the 21st century, Asian and Pacific peoples have played a vital role in the development of the United States and made lasting contributions in all elements of American society. Among the national parks that highlight important aspects of the Asian and Pacific experience in America are:

• Pu’uhonua O Hónaunau National Historical Park

(Hawaii) -Home to some of the most significant traditional Hawaiian sites the park extends through three ahupua’a (traditional Hawaiian units of land). It preserves over 400 years of Hawaiian history, including the historic 1871 Trail and the remains of an abandoned farming and fishing village known as Ki’ilae Village.

• Golden Spike National Historic Site

(Utah) – Among the stories told that define the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad here in 1869 were Chinese immigrants, who made up a majority of the work force that laid the tracks.

• Manzanar National Historic Site

(California) and Minidoka Internment National Historic Site (Idaho Washington) – Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 Japanese American men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center and Minidoka Relocation Center were two of the ten camps where these American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned.

• National Mall and Memorial Parks

– Marking the 100th anniversary of their planting in 2012, the famous cherry trees were a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan in 1912. Each year, they signal the coming of spring with an abundance of life and color in a sea of pale pink and white petals surrounding the Thomas Jefferson Memorial along the Tidal Basin.

In addition to national parks, the National Park Service also administers a number of programs commemorating the role of Asian Pacific Americans in the diversity of our nation. For links to theses resources, including more than 40 highlighted properties from the National Register of Historic Places, photo streams, travel itineraries, lesson plans, and much more, visit http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/feature/asia/.

Here are a few examples from the National Register list:

Nippon Hospital, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
The Nippon Hospital is the last structure standing in Stockton, California, which reaches back to the early 1900’s when Stockton had one of the largest Japanese communities in the United States.

Chinatown Historic District, New York, New York
The Chinatown neighborhood in Manhattan was forged in a dynamic period in American history, from the mid-19th to the early 20th century; a time when waves of immigrants from all corners of the world came to New York seeking opportunity.

Vatia, Old, Tutuila Island in American Samoa
Old Vatia contains a wealth of well-preserved features which help interpret the history and prehistory of the Polynesian Samoans.

Ah Louis Store, San Luis Obispo, California
Read about the young man Wong On who left his village near the city of Canton, China, to avoid the Taiping Rebellion, searched for gold in America, founded a business, created a Chinese community, and helped build the infrastructure of the west coast.

Bromley Farm — Koizuma Hishinuma Farm, Brighton, Colorado
James Hishinuma, the youngest of the family, felt it was his duty to fight in the war for the United States. He joined the army and was assigned to the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.

Washington Place, Honolulu, Hawaii
During the era in which Washington Place was built, the Hawaiian Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a native Hawaiian of Polynesian descent, King Kamehameha III.

Kam Wah Chung Company Building, John Day, Oregon
Built circa 1866 as a trading post, the building later served as a commercial, social, cultural, and spiritual center of the Chinese settlement of John Day.

Stedman–Thomas Historic District, Ketchikan, Alaska
The district was a cultural melting pot for Asian and Pacific Islanders involved in Alaska’s fishing industry from the early 1900s to the 1940s.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Article source: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1330

PORTER, Ind. – It starts with the beach, the 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and the ancient dunes of shifting sand. Beyond that, be prepared to discover a startling mix of habitats and adventure opportunities at this week’s National Park Getaway, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

The lakeshore is a regional favorite for wildlife viewing, teeming with deer, beaver, turtles and more than 350 species of birds. It is home to four national natural landmarks, a national historic landmark and more than 50 structures in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

About an hour from Chicago by car or commuter train, Indiana Dunes is one of the first parks specifically created to bring national parks close to urban areas. In the third largest metropolitan area in the country, locals have easy access to year-round recreation and education programs.

At Indiana Dunes, you can kick back and relax, enjoy some serious hiking, get sand under your toes and in your boots. Dig in further by reading this week’s National Park Getaway article at www.nps.gov/getaways.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Article source: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1331

COPPER CENTER, Alaska – Don’t bother looking for the gates or the entrance station. You won’t find them at this week’s destination. This week the National Park Getaway heads east of Anchorage to bask in the expansive wilderness of the nation’s largest national park.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is home to four mountain ranges, nine of the 16 highest peaks in the United States, the largest active volcano in Alaska and the greatest concentration of glaciers in North America. At 13.2 million acres, the sheer scale of this park is hard to soak in.

Although remote and sparsely populated, Wrangell-St. Elias has a human history dating back thousands of years. The park shares the history of native peoples, early explorers and copper miners. Visitors will find world-class opportunities for discovery, reflection and outdoor recreation.

If you’re looking for a wilderness experience that’s far off the beaten track then this is about as good as it gets. Your key to adventure starts by reading this week’s National Park Getaway at www.nps.gov/getaways.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Article source: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1334